MetaFilter posts tagged with talkingheadshttp://www.metafilter.com/tags/talkingheads
Posts tagged with 'talkingheads' at MetaFilter.Wed, 21 May 2014 19:23:58 -0800Wed, 21 May 2014 19:23:58 -0800en-ushttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss60The best 143 songs of all timehttp://www.metafilter.com/139279/The%2Dbest%2D143%2Dsongs%2Dof%2Dall%2Dtime
<a href="http://wherediditallgorightblog.wordpress.com/2013/07/19/i-am-a-free-man/">Andrew Collins</a> started a blog in July 2013 - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/">Circles of Life: The 143</a> - he's about half way through now. There are no embedded youtube clips or sound files because he "rejected it on the grounds that an embedded clip or sound file would detract from the purpose of the project, which is — selfishly — for me to exercise my fingers and brain in describing and contextualising 143 songs".
Doesn't mean I can't do it though (this <a href="http://metatalk.metafilter.com/22934/All-the-videos-have-em-all">Chrome extension</a> may come in handy):
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0sp4afMLMc">•</a> - <a href="https://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/07/05/abc-unzip-1983/">ABC, Unzip (1983)</a> [when he delivers the killer line in the second verse, "She's vegetarian except when it comes to sex," I blush every time.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-AP07bOgOk">•</a> - <a href="https://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/07/05/the-rakes-we-are-all-animals-2005/">The Rakes, We Are All Animals (2005)</a> [This is catchy stuff, with witty lines that stay in the mind]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djuc0kg97yo">•</a> - <a href="https://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/07/05/public-enemy-rebel-without-a-pause-1987/">Public Enemy, Rebel Without A Pause (1987)</a> [This is black power, pure and simple, its urgency communicated by the unusual 109bpm velocity (I looked that up) and the JBs' hornsqueal, which were signatures of a hip hop crew with their own agenda.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB7skYEv_EM">•</a> - <a href="https://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/07/06/david-bowie-be-my-wife-1977/">David Bowie, Be My Wife (1977)</a> [It's the pub piano of the intro that does it for me, banging away throughout as if by Mrs Mills, the perfect ironic underlay for Bowie's Chas &amp; Dave vocal.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bwRuQIbF_E">•</a> - <a href="https://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/07/07/colourbox-just-give-em-whiskey-1985/">Colourbox, Just Give 'Em Whiskey (1985)</a> [a rattling, guitar-led sprint through sci-fi thrillers <i>Westworld</i> and <i>The Andromeda Strain</i>, via dialogue lifted wholesale from videotapes and set to modern rock, ricocheting gunshots and soundtrack stings.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhumAMG7ZPk">•</a> - <a href="https://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/07/08/the-elgins-put-yourself-in-my-place-1966/">The Elgins, Put Yourself In My Place (1966)</a> [A saccharine, heady, insistent tune that grips your heart]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n16_JnsJjFs">•</a> - <a href="https://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/07/10/clock-dva-4-hours-1981/">Clock DVA, 4 Hours (1981)</a> [Over a grumbling bass, a blunt-instrument drumbeat and the pained wail of a sax, we are indoctrinated into a neo-<i>noir</i> nightmare]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LItOrlOi9SA">•</a> - <a href="https://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/07/11/beastie-boys-an-open-letter-to-nyc-2004/">Beastie Boys, An Open Letter To NYC (2004)</a> [It's nostalgic, defiant, together and stirring.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5alGzF9hu_0">•</a> - <a href="https://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/07/12/george-harrison-ballad-of-sir-frankie-crisp-let-it-roll-1970/">George Harrison, Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll) (1970)</a> [There aren't many "ditties" (George's word) about rich men who had houses built and designed their gardens, grottos and follies, full stop, but I doubt there's one that channels its subject like this one.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj99tl4CiwQ">•</a> - <a href="https://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/the-wedding-present-my-favourite-dress-1987/">The Wedding Present, My Favourite Dress (1987)</a> [There are two reasons why this song is magic. One is the decisive moan Gedge delivers after the last line. There are a lot of important "oh"s in pop music, but this is one to bruise your ribs from the inside. The second is the one minute and 24 seconds of outro, which rises and falls from that thousand-words "Ohhh" to the final, undressed jangle.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2BavhwpIJg">•</a> - <a href="https://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/07/17/10cc-im-not-in-love-1975/">10cc, I'm Not In Love (1975)</a> [its haunting choral effect was achieved in 1974 at the band's own Strawberry Studios with each layer of voice recorded separately (all four band members are involved), until they had 256.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2bzrCCKDwc">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/07/19/the-jesus-mary-chain-never-understand-1985/">The Jesus &amp; Mary Chain, Never Understand (1985)</a> [From the squall, a grumbling bassline, then a crackling guitar riff and rudimentary drum signature emerge, and an oddly sweet but half-hidden voice makes recognisable words amid the interference.]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7hBUL9kk1Y">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/07/19/burial-archangel-2007/">Burial, Archangel (2007)</a> [The song is all hints and vagaries. You fill in the blanks, and dubstep has many blanks.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kXK5-Svwxk">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/07/26/wu-tang-clan-let-my-ns-live-2000/">Wu-Tang Clan, Let My Niggas Live (2000)</a> [its "rigorous moves" glower, rumble and stalk to create a soundtrack to a film about a world I do not know, and that, I guess, is the allure.]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4PpsI5dSBw">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/07/26/bob-dylan-tell-me-that-it-isnt-true-1969/">Bob Dylan, Tell Me That It Isn't True (1969)</a> <i>Stirling Castle</i> [less than three minutes long but lifted by an enthusiastic drum part from Kenneth Buttrey, twinkling with all those guitars, enhanced with a bit of honky tonk piano and made airborne by Dylan's almost cheekily accessible vocal.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHppIFO2gaU">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/08/01/everything-but-the-girl-each-and-every-one-1984/">Everything But The Girl, Each And Every One (1984)</a> [plaintive brass, school-orchestra percussion (what is that hollow, ridged wooden thing you scrape a stick across?) and voices spun from silk.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO4Y8PROAHc">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/08/06/the-orb-little-fluffy-clouds-7-edit-1990/">The Orb, Little Fluffy Clouds (7″ Edit) (1990)</a> [ a remarkably disciplined sonic creation, whose voices drift across the production's blue sky like clouds]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g26e89xV1HU">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/08/06/the-jackson-sisters-i-believe-in-miracles-1973/">The Jackson Sisters, I Believe In Miracles (1973)</a> [so positive, so airborne, so persuasive, it has you hammering thin air and kills all known melancholia dead. ]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuezNswtRfo">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/08/07/the-sisters-of-mercy-lucretia-my-reflection-1988/">The Sisters Of Mercy, Lucretia My Reflection (1988)</a> [a track to drive a tank to. It consolidates all the dreams and fantasies I entertained during my Goth years of death and horror and sex and power.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnx9RIjaGrs">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/08/07/the-source-feat-candi-staton-you-got-the-love-1991/">The Source feat. Candi Staton, You Got The Love (Now Voyager Radio Edit) (1991)</a> [Sometimes a classic song comes together in a roundabout way, but as when the stars align, we should savour the moment. <i>You Got The Love</i> is one of those moments.]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0sw2CgysWY">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/pink-floyd-shine-on-you-crazy-diamond-parts-i-v-1975/">Pink Floyd, Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts I-V (1975)</a> [Big, beaty and bold, it's also personal and emotional, a prog-rock movement that actually moves.]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7syHDDJYr8">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/08/14/elvis-costello-and-the-attractions-beyond-belief-1982/">Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Beyond Belief (1982)</a> [About a minute in, Pete Thomas goes all over his kit, and the song prepares to go up a gear; there's even a gunshot, or what sounds like one. By the time Steve Nieve's piano cascades we're into full pulp fiction mode: a lot going on at a high level of emotion, in a very confined space. It's head-spinning.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WPqO0iODsw">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/the-fall-l-a-1985/">The Fall, L.A. (1985)</a> [driven by a chuffing synthesised sound and a keyboard pulse, and some of Karl Burns' heaviest but metronomically tumbling drums, and most of it feels like an instrumental, with that dirty twanging guitar and guttural bass, the vocals more of a wash than a foregrounded detail]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ445B0bqB4">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/08/19/the-temptations-its-growing-1965/">The Temptations, It's Growing (1965)</a> [disarmingly simple, high-pitched piano signature, not a riff but a warm-up and picked out, it seems, on a pub upright]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhaYlB4Dwng">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/08/20/the-cure-one-hundred-years-1982/">The Cure, One Hundred Years (1982)</a> [Remember: this magnificent sound was created by three blokes from Sussex, exhausted, drunk, high on drugs and at each others' throats, imagining they were making their last album]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98P-gu_vMRc">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/08/24/electric-light-orchestra-mr-blue-sky-1977/">Electric Light Orchestra, Mr Blue Sky (1977)</a> [they cook with gas for a full five minutes, using Vocoder and choral effects to tip a simple pop tune into sepulchral glory.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZlvwfvcekY#t=1m17s">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/08/24/jim-bob-cartoon-dad-2007/">Jim Bob, Cartoon Dad (2007)</a> [the brass band intro exquisitely pitched, the drama subsequently built up through a <i>rat-a-tat-tat</i> staccato section and a daringly literal chime before a reference to Big Ben striking.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0LeL9BUPtA">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/08/29/morrissey-everyday-is-like-sunday-1988/">Morrissey, Everyday Is Like Sunday (1988)</a> [Wet sand, pebbles, a bench, stolen clothes, the promenade, the etched postcard, "greased tea" and that glittering prize of a "cheap tray" – this is poetry by any other name, just set to a tune capable of giving even the stout-hearted the vapours.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZuduL_koVo">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/08/29/lionrock-fire-up-the-shoesaw-original-album-mix-1996/">Lionrock, Fire Up The Shoesaw (Original Album Mix) (1996)</a> [It begins, as these things so often do, with a disembodied, echoey sample of an American announcer, seemingly reacting to a primary election result of some kind and the establishment of "a new candidate" and, less conventionally, a "new favourite vegetable which is... asparagus" and then we're off]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH4BbTwRgis">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/09/04/adele-rolling-in-the-deep-2011/">Adele, Rolling In The Deep (2011)</a> [But I love the smokiness in her voice; the cracks; the scratches; the way she pulls back from total vocal acrobatics; always patting her heart.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLOTAJQF0Fo">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/09/09/scott-walker-montague-terrace-in-blue-1967/">Scott Walker, Montague Terrace (In Blue) (1967)</a> [The orchestra swirls around the narrator, as if in some West End musical, Walker nudged into the background by the swell as he hits the lamenting heights with a brass-backed chorus that finally names Montague Terrace... <i>in blue</i>]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MSPnFCUghc">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/09/16/pet-shop-boys-always-on-my-mind-1987/">Pet Shop Boys, Always On My Mind (1987)</a> [Its synth pulse pumps new life into what is a country song, but the sincerity of the sentiment is not lost in Tennant's characteristically nasal delivery.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g69labQKuuU">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/09/16/the-rolling-stones-wild-horses-1971/">The Rolling Stones, Wild Horses (1971)</a> [It's a little bit country, a little bit rock'n'roll, and that combination of acoustic and electric guitars is enough to break anybody's heart.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkpenzFNbpk">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/frank-wilson-do-i-love-you-indeed-i-do-1965/">Frank Wilson, Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) (1965)</a> [The <i>rat-tat-rat-a-tat</i> drum signature hallmarks the kind of record later pressed into service on the sprung dancefloors of Lancashire, but it's the chiming notes that single this song out.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ciKyheuXOs">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/09/20/joy-division-shes-lost-control-1979/">Joy Division, She's Lost Control (1979)</a> [the song's riff is played on the bass, by the man with the beard. It's radical in so many ways.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gavcjNniIvk">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/09/20/manic-street-preachers-motorcycle-emptiness-1992/">Manic Street Preachers, Motorcycle Emptiness (1992)</a> [whistleable rock'n'roll majestry]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5heTJ65bdhU">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/10/05/billy-bragg-tank-park-salute-1991/">Billy Bragg, Tank Park Salute (1991)</a> [Floated on musical <i>confidante</i> Cary Tievey's plangent piano – that's plaintive rather than funereal, and all the more touching for that (<i>Trust</i> is also piano-led) – Billy's voice is far from the Essex bark that got him noticed in the mid-80s, yet raw in a different way.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHYt-GKzfF0">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/the-smiths-rusholme-ruffians-1985/">The Smiths, Rusholme Ruffians (1985)</a> [descriptive, evocative, fast, funny, fleet of foot and ripe with imagery]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCrPOd_sSAw">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/10/16/gang-of-four-5-45-1979/">Gang Of Four, 5.45 (1979)</a> [it has a melodica; perhaps the most effective and beautiful use of that remedial wind instrument in all of post-punk.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcOHzW2e3jU">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/crosby-stills-nash-marrakesh-express-1969/">Crosby, Stills &amp; Nash, Marrakesh Express (1969)</a> [a locomotive little ditty that encapsulates all that was heady and infused about the late 60s and Laurel Canyon]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW6ACZGStt4">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/11/20/the-clash-groovy-times-1979/">The Clash, Groovy Times (1979)</a> [ I can't think of a more definitive Strummer vocal performance ("Hey, Groovy!"), those words spat out with such righteous fury and agitated saliva.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzIuUW9VUr0">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/11/25/blind-boys-of-alabama-way-down-in-the-hole-2001/">Blind Boys Of Alabama, Way Down In The Hole (2001)</a> [quite dainty, with a tickled <i>bossa nova</i> drum beat, and minimal blues guitar.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CL6n0FJZpk">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/12/02/dr-dre-feat-snoop-dogg-still-d-r-e-1999/">Dr Dre (feat. Snoop Dogg), Still D.R.E. (1999)</a> [Underpinning all this vocal tennis is one of the great pilfered-or-otherwise cinematic/orchestral riffs in all of hip-hop]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9vnNvlH2DM">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/12/06/led-zeppelin-whole-lotta-love-1969/">Led Zeppelin, Whole Lotta Love (1969)</a> [it loops off into a prog hinterland of tickled cymbals, errant percussion, scraped strings, spectral echoes, space traffic, orgasmic monkey noises and then, at the three-minute mark, to the sound of radio station playlist managers heading for the car park, Bonzo signals the song back in,]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWcgFUpypXg">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/12/18/cocteau-twins-ivo-1984/">Cocteau Twins, Ivo (1984)</a> [It even has a guitar solo – which is a bit like letting off a firework during a fireworks display.]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V1p1dM3snQ">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/12/19/the-kingsmen-louie-louie-1963/">The Kingsmen, Louie Louie (1963)</a> [From that seductive organ intro, offset by the warning-sign of a single offbeat on the snare, the arrangement crashes through the wall, fully formed, driven by a rhythm that must have sounded deeply satanic]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrxZhWCAuQw">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2013/12/20/the-beatles-blackbird-1968/">The Beatles, Blackbird (1968)</a> [A simply picked tune on a Martin D 28 acoustic (you <i>know</i> I looked that up), recorded outside, there is on the millpond surface so little to it, musically, although archaeology reveals roots in a tune for loot by JS Bach, <i>Bourrée in E Minor</i>]
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-6QPyZ49iA">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/01/16/the-lotus-eaters-the-first-picture-of-you-1983/">The Lotus Eaters, The First Picture Of You (1983)</a> [the magic force of this song's feelings – the sort that feel as if they could actually bring on a change in season – is forever.]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB7AbUshE7w">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/02/19/the-human-league-being-boiled-1980/">The Human League, Being Boiled (1980)</a> [a truly pivotal moment in pop music is born: a singer uses the word "sericulture",]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT1FHNrmPj8">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/02/19/dave-brubeck-quartet-take-five-1959/">Dave Brubeck Quartet, Take Five (1959)</a> [It's wordless. A play without dialogue. A tune sung by percussion and wind.]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrX591bZNXU">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/02/24/diana-ross-upside-down-1980/">Diana Ross, Upside Down (1980)</a> [Ross's voice, high in the mix (maybe higher than intended), is light, sexy and seamlessly authoritative throughout]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Zh1MrgBvQ">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/02/25/radiohead-idioteque-2000/">Radiohead, Idioteque (2000)</a> [Rattling like a little girl's toy, it makes you jerk your elbows, it makes you think, it makes Thom Yorke enter the same seizure-like state of grace that once possessed Ian Curtis.]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54YhQZN5Uq8">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/02/28/tom-waits-jockey-full-of-bourbon-1985/">Tom Waits, Jockey Full Of Bourbon (1985)</a> [The voice, low and ravaged, sings of drop-dead suits, mohair vests, downtown trains and "a two dollar pistol",]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVyS9JwtFoQ">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/03/13/pixies-debaser-1989/">Pixies, Debaser (1989)</a> [Frank Black tears into this recording with its highbrow nonsense lyric as if these were his last two minutes and 52 seconds on earth]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i9DTnc6WjQ">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/03/13/nick-cave-and-the-bad-seeds-city-of-refuge-1988/">Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, City Of Refuge (1988)</a> [It rolls into view out of a heat-haze of howling harmonica and guitar strummed in readiness for something wicked which presumably this way comes.]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7MwXniOD44">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/03/17/the-farm-all-together-now-1990/">The Farm, All Together Now (1990)</a> [A "terrace singalong" is how it might be dismissed by people who've never stepped foot on a terrace, or sang along. But community singing is important]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ohBgfb9vTQ">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/03/18/happy-mondays-mad-cyril-1988/">Happy Mondays, Mad Cyril (1988)</a> [This beat poetry from the back-bar Bukowski or – according to the late, kingmaking Tony Wilson – the Wine Lodge Yeats, gives vital shape to what is otherwise a near formless barrage of noise.]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp4UI_FxGLE">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/03/19/johnny-cash-hurt-2002/">Johnny Cash, Hurt (2002)</a> [Mortality stalks <i>Hurt</i> like a ghost at a wedding. "You could have it all," sounds like our man preparing to do a deal, and a jabbed piano and second guitar underline the importance of what's afoot.]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO7N2tFb0X8">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/03/19/talking-heads-born-under-punches-the-heat-goes-on-1980/">Talking Heads, Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On) (1980)</a> [A chattering, Brian Eno-doctored mutant of guitars, squeals and beats speaks in musical tongues, while Byrne, a perspiring Norman Bates-like figure, affects a near-parody of the possessed funk vocalist]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_xwnb3cymc">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/03/25/faces-ooh-la-la-1973/">Faces, Ooh La La (1973)</a> [It's a glorious, sunshiny, folksy ditty about the passage of time and I do wish that I knew what I know now when I was forty.]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb7_pOu4kuc">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/03/26/the-the-uncertain-smile-1983/">The The, Uncertain Smile (1983)</a> [a copper-bottomed attention-grabbing lament to romantic loss and solipsistic regret]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71ZHVmSuBJM">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/new-order-regret-1993/">New Order, Regret (1993)</a> [It's oysters without grit, a city skyline without TV aerials, a billboard panorama without imperfections, a sound so deep and wide and tall it bleeds off the edges of most pop music's expectations and resets the aspect ratio.]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwzaifhSw2c">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/04/22/the-velvet-underground-venus-in-furs-1967/">The Velvet Underground, Venus In Furs (1967)&gt;</a> [This song sounds like forbidden fruit, a sacrificial drone recorded in a secret place behind a secret door with a secret knock, in a thick fug of analgesic vapour among cross-dressing whiplash folk.]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uByDKr7ZKAY">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/bobby-womack-across-110th-street-1973/">Bobby Womack, Across 110th Street (1973)</a> [this vivid, urgent, soulful lament to social exclusion and ethnic deprivation becomes a freedom song]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf5wvh1lUFo">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/05/02/kevin-coyne-dynamite-daze-1978/">Kevin Coyne, Dynamite Daze (1978)</a> [The beat gallops, time is kept, guitars are thrashed, and through it all, Coyne's almost comedic gurgle; impossible to tear your ears away from, it hiccups and free-forms, rising to a crazy, yodelling falsetto with total abandon]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu8tdXBkQhY">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/05/05/the-ronettes-be-my-baby-1963/">The Ronettes, Be My Baby (1963)</a> [her promise on <i>Be My Baby</i> to give three kisses for every one hypothetically provided by her prospective "baby" is one of the high watermarks of all recorded pop.]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7ikmVbr8J8">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/cud-rich-and-strange-1992/">Cud, Rich And Strange (1992)</a> [a tight, bright, almost claustrophobically self-contained glam racket.]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZckRW3OTfgg">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/05/08/the-fire-engines-candy-skin-1981/">The Fire Engines, Candy Skin (1981)</a> [A goosebumping <i>obstinate</i> that crystalises everything about 1981 in one electrifying, melodic phrase, augmented thereafter by an entire jumble sale of bashes, squeaks, voices, vibrations and even chocolate box strings, which unite to attain a certain kind of DIY nirvana.]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdyf8SuoGI0">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/05/10/james-brown-get-up-i-feel-like-being-a-sex-machine-part-1-1970/">James Brown, Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine Part 1 (1970)</a> [There's steam coming off this recording, and yet the lid stays on]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX1PwkgwsG0">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/05/12/echo-the-bunnymen-the-killing-moon-1984/">Echo &amp; The Bunnymen, The Killing Moon (1984)</a> [elegant, aromatic, sincere, torrid, spooky, luxurious, deep, wide and long]
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGU_4-5RaxU">•</a> - <a href="http://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2014/05/21/blondie-heart-of-glass-1978/">Blondie, Heart Of Glass (1978)</a> [Debbie Harry's diaphanous, triple-tracked vocal, all hard edges removed, actual words tricky to pick out, is more of a cloud than a statement. A kind of magic.] tag:metafilter.com,2014:site.139279Wed, 21 May 2014 19:23:58 -0800unliteralScratch my back, and I'll scratch yours.http://www.metafilter.com/135204/Scratch%2Dmy%2Dback%2Dand%2DIll%2Dscratch%2Dyours
Back at the beginning of 2010, Peter Gabriel released <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scratch_My_Back"><em>Scratch My Back</em></a>, <a href="http://thequietus.com/articles/03628-peter-gabriel-on-new-album-scratch-my-back-review">an album of covers of various artists</a>. He had hoped those same artists would, in turn, cover songs he had written. Well, it didn't all come together as smoothly as he had planned, and not all the artists participated, but he's finally released <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_I'll_Scratch_Yours">And I'll Scratch Yours</a></em>. <a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/12/26/257385135/first-listen-peter-gabriel-scratch-my-back-and-i-ll-scratch-yours?utm_source=music&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=20131229">NPR has a limited time preview of both albums running right now.</a> <strong>Scratch My Back</strong>:
Heroes (David Bowie)
The Boy In The Bubble (Paul Simon)
Mirrorball (Elbow)
Flume (Bon Iver)
Listening Wind (Talking Heads)
The Power Of The Heart (Lou Reed)
My Body Is A Cage (Arcade Fire)
The Book Of Love (The Magnetic Fields)
I Think It's Going To Rain Today (Randy Newman)
Après moi (Regina Spektor)
Philedelphia (Neil Young)
Street Spirit (Fade Out) (Radiohead)
<strong>And I'll Scratch Yours</strong>:
I Don't Remember (David Byrne)
Come Talk To Me (Bon Iver)
Blood Of Eden (Regina Spektor)
Not One Of Us (Stephin Merritt)
Shock The Monkey (Joseph Arthur)
Big Time (Randy Newman)
Games Without Frontiers (Arcade Fire)
Mercy Street (Elbow)
Mother Of Violence (Brian Eno)
Don't Give Up (Feist feat Timber Timbre)
Solsbury Hill (Lou Reed) [in one of his last recordings]
Biko (Paul Simon) tag:metafilter.com,2013:site.135204Sun, 29 Dec 2013 22:33:52 -0800hippybearYou and whose Armey?http://www.metafilter.com/133924/You%2Dand%2Dwhose%2DArmey
<a href="http://thebaffler.com/past/good_enough_for_government_work">Good Enough For Government Work</a> <blockquote>Welcome to the new incarnation of the "think tank" world, over which Jim DeMint—its ideal-type avatar—now presides. Instead of letting scholars of various shades of true believership study what interests them without predetermined conclusions, think tanks are now expected to formulate new ways to echo one or another approved ideological dogma—and then marshal lawmakers, none too subtly, to march in lockstep behind it. ...
In other words, to consider DeMint's legacy simply because he's exiting the Senate after eight years is silly, when he's just beginning to craft it, finally, from a position of actual power.</blockquote> <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/11/13/corporate_americas_new_scam_industry_p_r_firm_poses_as_think_tank/">Corporate America's new scam: Industry P.R. firm poses as think tank!</a> - "How the media fell hook, line and sinker for the propagandist, respectable-sounding "Employment Policies Institute""
<a href="http://www.thebaffler.com/blog/2013/11/reporting_from_the_insitute_of_made_up_institutes">Reporting from the Institute of Made-Up Institutes</a>
<a href="http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2012/12/14/The-Alarming-Corruption-of-the-Think-Tanks">The Alarming Corruption Of The Think Tanks</a>
<a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/politics/79467/bill-kristol-think-tank-fetish">Bill Kristol's Think Tank Fetish</a>
<a href="http://spectator.org/articles/55629/putting-heritage-demint-condition">Putting Heritage in Mint Condition</a>
<a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/09/26/226553017/jim-demint-after-leaving-senate-more-powerful-than-ever">Jim DeMint, After Leaving The Senate, More Powerful Than Ever</a>
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2013/10/21/jim-demints-destruction-of-the-heritage-foundation/">Jim DeMint's destruction of the Heritage Foundation</a>
<a href="http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/armey-in-exile/index.php">Armey in Exile</a> tag:metafilter.com,2013:site.133924Sun, 17 Nov 2013 14:47:12 -0800the man of twists and turnsFrom the mind of Byrnehttp://www.metafilter.com/133782/From%2Dthe%2Dmind%2Dof%2DByrne
In 1984, the same year that Stop Making Sense was released, another meticulously crafted Talking Heads concert movie made its debut as well. <a href="http://dangerousminds.net/comments/once_in_a_lifetime_talking_heads_mind-scrambling_concert_video">Once in a Lifetime</a> is a 69-minute piece of experimental television (originally broadcast on England's Channel 4) that Talking Heads fans (as well as those interested in mid-80s video montage stylings) will surely want to check out. tag:metafilter.com,2013:site.133782Wed, 13 Nov 2013 09:19:34 -0800flapjax at midnitePutting the play in playing music.http://www.metafilter.com/133774/Putting%2Dthe%2Dplay%2Din%2Dplaying%2Dmusic
<a href="http://www.adrianbelew.net/">Adrian Belew has played with Frank Zappa, David Bowie, The Talking Heads and The Tom Tom Club - as well as having released many albums inependently.</a> He seems to be having fun.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcB1TIYYjyA">Adrian Belew and the Bears August 11th 1987 (Full Show) </a>.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g8lFmsCXhg">Talking Heads - Crosseyed and Painless.</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ758xfIK4I">Three of a perfect pair.</a>
He's perhaps best known for his work with King Crimson.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZVvbOu4qYA">Thela Hun Ginjeet.</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQrlDzqUCA">Elephant Talk.</a> tag:metafilter.com,2013:site.133774Wed, 13 Nov 2013 00:19:30 -0800vapidaveDead Eyes, Hinged Mouth, Never Sleep Again, Dead Eyes, Hinged Mouth, Never Sleep Again...http://www.metafilter.com/123459/Dead%2DEyes%2DHinged%2DMouth%2DNever%2DSleep%2DAgain%2DDead%2DEyes%2DHinged%2DMouth%2DNever%2DSleep%2DAgain
<a href="http://www.pointedleafpress.com/talking-heads">Talking Heads: The Vent Haven Portraits</a> is a new book by Matthew Rolston which explores the history and style of ventriloquist dummies. <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/maceyjforonda/21-nightmare-inducing-dummy-headshots-7t1j">Buzzfeed</a> has collected some of the most <a href="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr03/2012/12/6/15/enhanced-buzz-wide-13344-1354827111-13.jpg">interesting</a> (<a href="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr01/2012/12/6/15/enhanced-buzz-wide-4715-1354827046-3.jpg">and</a> <a href="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr03/2012/12/6/15/enhanced-buzz-wide-13344-1354827103-8.jpg">creepy</a>) of the <a href="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr01/2012/12/6/15/enhanced-buzz-wide-4719-1354827039-3.jpg">portraits</a> <a href="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr01/2012/12/6/15/enhanced-buzz-wide-4715-1354827069-8.jpg">contained</a> <a href="http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr02/2012/12/6/15/enhanced-buzz-wide-13162-1354827099-6.jpg">within</a>. tag:metafilter.com,2013:site.123459Fri, 04 Jan 2013 09:05:38 -0800quinTalking Heads: Live in Rome 1980 full concerthttp://www.metafilter.com/119971/Talking%2DHeads%2DLive%2Din%2DRome%2D1980%2Dfull%2Dconcert
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wp2qhoop9U">Talking Heads, Live in Rome, 1980</a> <a href="http://www.openculture.com/2012/06/live_in_rome_1980_the_talking_heads_concert_film_you_havent_seen.html">The Talking Heads concert film you haven't seen:</a> the show that would eventually be recorded in the (awesome) concert film <em><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJJ9u4yrjvY">Stop Making Sense</a></em> 3 years later, recorded while it was still a bit weird and uncertain. And therefore, wonderful. Several individual songs from this show were <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/63128/Talking-Heads-Rome-1980">compiled a few years ago</a> in an excellent post by Meatbomb. tag:metafilter.com,2012:site.119971Sat, 15 Sep 2012 18:57:49 -0800BoringPostcards"It's called 'New Wave Rock'" - Hugh Downshttp://www.metafilter.com/107211/Its%2Dcalled%2DNew%2DWave%2DRock%2DHugh%2DDowns
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7zQIEER_H4"><em>'New Wave' means a loud rock and roll dance band like The Ramones, it means the angry punk politics of The Clash, and it also means the sort of intellectual art rock typified by The Talking Heads.</em></a> A 20/20 segment from 1979 explores the origins and influence of New Wave, including live footage and brief interviews with The Clash and Talking Heads, as well as short clips of Levi and the Rockats, The Ramones, and Klaus Nomi. <small>[via <a href="http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2011/09/07/vintage-video-%E2%80%982020%E2%80%99-probes-new-wave-rock-phenomenon-in-1979-segment/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SlicingUpEyeballs+%28slicing+up+eyeballs%3A+%2780s+college%2C+indie%2C+alternative+rock+music%29">slicing up eyeballs</a> and <a href="http://www.jukeboxgraduate.com/2011/09/2020-on-new-wave-from-1979/">jukeboxgraduate</a>.]</small> tag:metafilter.com,2011:site.107211Wed, 07 Sep 2011 10:21:54 -0800shannonm"Hi. I've got a tape I want to play."http://www.metafilter.com/106068/Hi%2DIve%2Dgot%2Da%2Dtape%2DI%2Dwant%2Dto%2Dplay
Over three nights at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood in December 1983, Jonathan Demme filmed Talking Heads' <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUjjFETMTxE"><cite>Stop Making Sense</cite></a>. The band performed <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pCZ5E5tn4I">"Psycho Killer,"</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zNdMc6wGtU">"Heaven,"</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhQU3fgCMXA">"Thank You for Sending Me an Angel,"</a> "Found a Job," <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnu3TqDKXZY">"Slippery People,"</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VDd5wCSW7U">"Cities,"</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHJmPcILfg8">"Burning Down the House,"</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsksSWOxq2Y">"Life During Wartime,"</a> "Making Flippy Floppy," <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwWEhSYVN3E">"Swamp,"</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXJgt8rLMC4">"What a Day That Was,"</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cqg_ZGcuybs">"This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody),"</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-io-kZKl_BI">"Once in a Lifetime,"</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3w-S8dPHAo">"Big Business/I Zimbra,"</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIW4skg3Ceo">"Genius of Love"</a> (as Tom Tom Club while David Byrne changed into the Big Suit), <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x20vxs_talking-heads-girlfriend-is-better_music">"Girlfriend is Better,"</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anjT71N4PGM">"Take Me to the River,"</a> and "Crosseyed and Painless."<br>
"Thank you. Does anybody have any questions?" <dl><dt><b>Why "Stop Making Sense"?</b></dt><dd>"Because it's good advice. Because music and performing does not make sense. It is my job." <small><sup>1</sup></small> ("Stop making sense" is a lyric in "Girlfriend Is Better.")</dd><dt><b>Why a movie?</b></dt><dd>"We were thinking about making a recording of the performance and then Jonathan Demme came along and said, 'I think you guys should make a film of this.'...We knew who he was from the first movie, the Howard Hughes movie. What was that called?" <small><sup>2</sup></small> Then best known for <cite>Melvin and Howard</cite>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001129/">Jonathan Demme</a>'s directoral debut was 1974's <cite>Caged Heat</cite>; he had made <cite>Citizens Band</cite>, <cite>Fighting Mad</cite>, <cite>Crazy Mama</cite>, <cite>Last Embrace</cite>, and <cite>Swing Shift</cite> before filming <cite>Stop Making Sense</cite>. "The visual design of the show itself is obviously highly cinematic. I think all the members of the band are unusually charismatic, hard-working, and exciting to watch. Beyond that, I thought the show had a funny kind of narrative feeling to me, one that I can't describe - one that I don't even care to <em>try</em> to describe - but I had a feeling I was seeing some kind of story, that I was meeting a group of characters as David attacked each new song." <small><sup>3</sup></small><dt><b>Why tour?</b></dt><dd>"When there is something new to say to an audience, then we'll tour again. Besides new songs, when the only way to say that thing is through a live performance making." <small><sup>1</sup></small> (<cite>Stop Making Sense</cite> was filmed during the tour for <cite>Speaking in Tongues</cite>, which was Talking Heads' last tour.)</dd><dt><b>Why do the musicians come out gradually?</b></dt><dd>"Well, if the curtain opened and everything was there there'd be nowhere to go. It tells the story of the band and it gets more dramatic and physical as it builds up." <small><sup>1</sup></small> "After Byrne's solo, the eight other members of the group come on gradually, by ones and twos, in the order in which they originally joined up with him, so you see the band take form." <small><sup>4</sup></small></dd><dt><b>Where do the odd movements come from?</b></dt><dd>David Byrne's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cqg_ZGcuybs#t=04m26s">dancing with a lamp</a> during "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" is reminiscent of Fred Astaire <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJvGxTKGFHA#t=01m35s">dancing with a coat rack</a> in <cite>Royal Wedding</cite>. His jerky movements during "Psycho Killer" may have been inspired by at Paul Belmondo at the end of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq55HTX87U0#t=01h27m30s"><cite>Breathless</cite></a> (1960). The movements in "Once in a Lifetime" come from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1wg1DNHbNU">the original video</a>.</dd><dt><b>Why no "special effects" in the movie?</b></dt><dd>"I thought that any special cinematic effects would intrude on the richness of the pure performance. Therefore I didn't want to get into that, and didn't." <small><sup>3</sup></small></dd><dt><b>Why a big suit?</b></dt><dd>"I like symmetry and geometric shapes. I wanted my head to appear smaller, and the easiest way to do that was to make my body bigger. Because music is very physical, and often the body understands it before the head." <small><sup>1</sup></small> "I drew this thing that looked like a Kabuki costume, which is also very rectangular. And the person's head looks like a very small ball. But I thought, What if you take that kind of silhouette, but put it in a Western business suit? I became fascinated with the idea of taking things that look very everyday or commonplace and stretching that in some way, rather than making something totally fantastic and imaginary. I like to restrict myself, OK? It has to look like a suit, even if it's pink fur. It makes reference to the businessman. It has some kind of psychological meaning besides being a costume. He is lost in his suit. Or his suit is swallowing him. It implies all these other things that a wild fantasy costume wouldn't say." <small><sup>5</sup></small>
<small>(<a href="http://ask.metafilter.com/73605/Wherehow-do-I-get-ahold-of-a-Big-Suit-like-David-Byrne-wore-in-Stop-Making-Sense#1354433">"How a big suit"</a> previously on Ask MEtaFilter.)</small></dd><dt><b>Why was a digital system used for the sound?</b></dt><dd><a href="http://funrocking.com/2011/07/top-10-movie-soundtrack-firsts/"><cite>Stop Making Sense</cite></a> was "the first time that a film used complete digital audio technology."</dd><dt><b>What will the band do next?</b></dt><dd>"A project with songs based on true stories from tabloid newspapers. It's like <cite>60 Minutes</cite> on acid." <small><sup>1</sup></small> The band recorded <cite>Little Creatures</cite> before they got to <cite>True Stories</cite>.</dd></dd></dl>Sources for quotes:<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE-mxVxFXLg">David Byrne interviewing David Byrne</a> in a promo for the movie (<a href="http://notes.jayrobinson.org/post/507482027/david-byrne-interviews-himself-for-a-talking-heads">transcript</a>). It's like <cite>60 Minutes</cite> on acid.</li>
<li><a href="http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/13/talking-heads-chris-frantz-on-25-years-of-stop-making-sense-and-the-possibility-of-a-heads-reunion/">"Talking Heads' Chris Frantz on 25 years of 'Stop Making Sense' and the possibility of a Heads reunion"</a> [get used to disappointment about a reunion]</li>
<li><a href="http://www.media-party.com/storefrontdemme/startmakingsense.html">"Start Making Sense: an Interview with Jonathan Demme"</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.davidbyrne.com/film/Stop_Making_Sense/s_m_s_press/s_m_s_pauline_kael_nyer.php">"Three Cheers,"</a> Pauline Kael, <cite>The New Yorker</cite>, November 26, 1984</li>
<li><a href="http://www.salon.com/people/lunch/1999/10/14/byrne">David Byrne at the Ear Inn</a></li>
</ol>Talking Heads David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, and Tina Weymouth were joined by <a href="http://www.bernieworrell.com/biography">Bernie Worrell</a> (keyboards), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Weir">Alex Weir</a> (guitar, vocals), <a href="http://www.nndb.com/people/533/000094251/">Steve Scales</a> (percussion), <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/artist/fd654814-51e5-4862-a205-7c97a7ae49b8">Ednah Holt</a> (backing vocals), and <a href="http://rockalittle.com/SingerPage/singers/LynnMabry.html">Lynn Mabry</a> (backing vocals). Steve Scales and Bernie Worrell had previously played on <cite>The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads</cite>; Scales, Worrell, and Alex Weir had also played on <cite>Speaking in Tongues</cite>.
"Cities" and "Big Business/I Zimbra" were cut from the theatrical release of the movie and were restored as bonus features for the 1999 DVD release. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Making_Sense_(album)">soundtrack</a> was originally released in 1984 with nine songs ("Psycho Killer," "Swamp," "Slippery People," "Burning Down the House," "Girlfriend Is Better," "Once in a Lifetime," "What a Day That Was," "Life During Wartime," and "Take Me to the River"). The 1999 <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000K3G8/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/">Special New Edition</a> added "Heaven," "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel," "Found a Job," "Making Flippy Floppy," "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)," "Genius of Love" [Tom Tom Club], and "Crosseyed and Painless" and changed the order of songs to match the movie. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Making_Sense#Set_lists">set list</a> for the tour also included "Love Goes to Building on Fire," "The Book I Read," "Big Blue Plymouth (Eyes Wide Open)," "Houses in Motion," and "Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town," but they didn't appear in the movie or on the soundtrack.
The opening credits were designed by longtime graphic- and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHAjh-HdET4">film titles designer</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Ferro">Pablo Ferro</a> and are similar to his opening credits for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs7EikHQGlA"><cite>Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb</cite></a>.
<a href="http://www.innerviews.org/inner/heads.html">Interview</a> with Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, and Tina Weymouth in 1999 for the 15th anniversary re-release.
<cite>New York Times</cite> review: <a href="http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B06E0DF1439F93AA25753C1A962948260">"Talking Heads in <cite>Stop Making Sense,"</cite></a> by Janet Maslin, October 19, 1984 tag:metafilter.com,2011:site.106068Mon, 01 Aug 2011 06:34:35 -0800kirkarachaThe Chain Of Coincidencehttp://www.metafilter.com/105630/The%2DChain%2DOf%2DCoincidence
One day in 1984 character actor <a href="http://www.slashfilm.com/category/features/slashfilmcast/the-tobolowsky-files/">Stephen Tobolowsky</a> (<cite><a href="http://www.schindler.org/psacot/20010813_ghd.shtml">Groundhog Day</a></cite>, the original, unaired pilot of <cite><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9ThFA6NMe8">Buffy The Vampire Slayer</a></cite>) was walking down the street when <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/CagedHeat">Jonathan Demme</a> pulled up and asked if he wanted to see a movie he was finishing. Tobolowsky accepted: taking his girlfriend <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHTNCRFZ3yQ">Beth Henley</a>, they went to the <a href="http://sites.google.com/site/hollywoodtheatres/dunn">Academy Linwood Dunn Theatre</a> to watch the rough cut of the movie, <cite><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE-mxVxFXLg">Stop Making Sense</a></cite>. The audience in the otherwise empty theatre consisted of <a href="http://www.stbpmovie.com/trailer.html">Tobolowsky</a>, Henley, and Demme, along with members of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vCvXWg_E1k">Talking Heads</a>, including <a href="http://www.davidbyrne.com/radio/index.php">David Byrne</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-MekqMi9tk&feature=player_detailpage#t=64s">Tina Weymouth</a>. Later, <a href="http://journal.davidbyrne.com/">Byrne</a> passed <a href="http://stephentobolowsky.wordpress.com/">Tobolowsky</a> on his <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVkAD_zHsJY">bike</a> and asked if he wanted to work on a <a href="http://fyeahtruestories.tumblr.com/">new movie</a>. Interest sparked again, and during the ensuing collaboration Tobolowsky shared his past experience of psychic phenomena. Inspired, Byrne went on to write <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvYHmCMAqLQ">Radio Head</a>. The song was heard by <a href="http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_yorke?currentPage=all">Thom Yorke</a> and became the name of his <a href="http://radiohead.com/deadairspace/">band</a>. All of this is a true story, based on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2TyF1CbsDs">puzzling evidence</a>. <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/88662/The-Tobolowsky-Files">Stephen Tobolowsky</a>, <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/63128/Talking-Heads-Rome-1980">Talking Heads</a> and <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/65563/A-narrated-bikeride-through-NYC-with-David-Byrne">David Byrne's bike</a> previously. tag:metafilter.com,2011:site.105630Sun, 17 Jul 2011 17:47:37 -0800Bora Horza GobuchulThis must be the placehttp://www.metafilter.com/89454/This%2Dmust%2Dbe%2Dthe%2Dplace
<a href="http://coverlaydown.com/2010/02/covered-in-folk-talking-heads/">16 folk covers of the Talking Heads (feat. 6 covers of Naive Melody).</a> tag:metafilter.com,2010:site.89454Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:57:11 -0800geoff.Top Videos from MTV's First Dayhttp://www.metafilter.com/89087/Top%2DVideos%2Dfrom%2DMTVs%2DFirst%2DDay
<a href="http://thetop13.com/videos-from-mtvs-first-day-L65/">Top Videos from MTV's First Day.</a> Most people know that The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" was the first video ever played on MTV, on August 1, 1981. The Top 13 picks the top 13 videos that aired that day. Pat Benatar's "You Better Run" was the second video played on MTV; Nick Lowe's "Cruel to Be Kind" was the last played that day. Of the 62 videos that aired that day, five were by Rod Stewart and four were by REO Speedwagon. The rest of the Top 13:<ul><li>Talking Heads, "Once in a Lifetime"</li><li>Pretenders, "Brass in Pocket"</li><li>Blondie, "Rapture"</li><li>Phil Collins, "In the Air Tonight"</li><li>David Bowie, "Ashes to Ashes"</li><li>The Who, "You Better You Bet"</li><li>Elvis Costello, "Oliver's Army"</li><li>Gerry Rafferty, "Baker Street"</li><li>Iron Maiden, "Iron Maiden"</li><li>April Wine, "Just Between You and Me"</li></ul> tag:metafilter.com,2010:site.89087Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:08:01 -0800kirkarachaKrohn's Diseasehttp://www.metafilter.com/79784/Krohns%2DDisease
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/fashion/08conserve.html">Little Mr. Conservative.</a> The interview concluded, Jonathan wistfully handed his mother her cellphone. His parents still won't let him have one, even though he turned 14 last Sunday, right after he became an instant news <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5799018844553094703&ei=H-2zScv-J6q6qAPWqtjxAw&q=jonathan+krohn&hl=en">media darling and the <a href="http://www.defineconservatism.com/index.php/authorsbio">conservative movement's underage graybeard</a> at last weekend's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vz1TVpwme0">Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington</a>.</a> tag:metafilter.com,2009:site.79784Sun, 08 Mar 2009 09:10:27 -0800psmealeyTalking Heads, Rome 1980http://www.metafilter.com/63128/Talking%2DHeads%2DRome%2D1980
Pretend it's 1980. Let's also imagine that you are in Rome, and for whatever reason you have decided to go see this musical group called The Talking Heads.<br>
<small>At the concert, these are the songs that the band plays:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNAzXlDaHQU">Psycho Killer</a>;
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn2NIhVI8qQ">Stay Hungry</a>;
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51IZG6Ryeis">Cities</a>;
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-MekqMi9tk">I Zimbra</a>;
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOiDdXwdLH8">Drugs</a>;
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25E0ACkA6uo">Take Me to the River</a>;
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g8lFmsCXhg">Crosseyed and Painless</a>;
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MYp0VIbwZk">Life During Wartime</a>;
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaMzKpNC2Jk">Houses in Motion</a>;
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVIKF03KkVM">Born under Punches</a>;
and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KQjy02eqOk">The Great Curve</a>.</small> tag:metafilter.com,2007:site.63128Sat, 21 Jul 2007 13:12:24 -0800MeatbombO'Reilly Interviews Marilyn Mansonhttp://www.metafilter.com/59050/OReilly%2DInterviews%2DMarilyn%2DManson
<a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xyg7q_marilyn-manson-on-oreily-factor">Whu?</a> Bill O'Reilly does a respectably good interview with... <i>Marilyn Manson</i>! This is surprising on so many levels. And the content, superb. Well worth the viewing.<small> [video link] via Cyberdork via Reddit</small> tag:metafilter.com,2007:site.59050Wed, 28 Feb 2007 19:50:48 -0800five fresh fishAmerican Amnesiahttp://www.metafilter.com/57565/American%2DAmnesia
<a href="http://www.amconmag.com/2007/2007_01_15/article1.html">Ouch.</a> You know that kid who just won't accept responsibility for his actions? Keeps making excuses, or denying the plain facts, or insists he never said such a thing... <i>Mom, you are <b>so</b>ooo unfair!</i>... Some of the Press haven't grown out of it. Glenn Greenwald gives them a spanking. tag:metafilter.com,2007:site.57565Sat, 06 Jan 2007 21:18:10 -0800five fresh fishOlberman v O'Reilly on Colberthttp://www.metafilter.com/50114/Olberman%2Dv%2DOReilly%2Don%2DColbert
The current (and very amusing) <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/48778">Keith Olberman v Bill O'Reilly feud </a>spilled over onto the Colbert Report last night during <a href="http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2006/03/stephen_colbert_1.html">Olberman's guest stint</a>. (link goes to embedded 7 minute video). tag:metafilter.com,2006:site.50114Thu, 16 Mar 2006 08:25:17 -0800jonsonAn anthropologist from Marshttp://www.metafilter.com/37302/An%2Danthropologist%2Dfrom%2DMars
<a href="http://www.davidbyrne.com/tour_journal_04.php">David Byrne's web journal</a> tag:metafilter.com,2004:site.37302Mon, 29 Nov 2004 07:32:04 -0800Swampjazz!But I've heard President Bush describe his record. His record doesn't match his record.http://www.metafilter.com/36297/But%2DIve%2Dheard%2DPresident%2DBush%2Ddescribe%2Dhis%2Drecord%2DHis%2Drecord%2Ddoesnt%2Dmatch%2Dhis%2Drecord
<a href="http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0410/15/cf.01.html">STEWART: You know what's interesting, though? You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show.</a> Just one tiny bit of a very memorable <a href="http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/crossfire/">Crossfire</a> on CNN. Guest is of course, <a href="http://www.comedycentral.com/tv_shows/thedailyshowwithjonstewart/">Jon Stewart,</a> one bright spot in our media cesspool, even though they seem to be clueless that he's parodying <i>them.</i> tag:metafilter.com,2004:site.36297Fri, 15 Oct 2004 15:28:41 -0800amberglowLearning to Love PowerPointhttp://www.metafilter.com/27759/Learning%2Dto%2DLove%2DPowerPoint
<a href="http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt1.html">Learning to Love PowerPoint</a> <cite>Wired</cite> and the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/17/arts/design/17VIEN.html?pagewanted=print&position="><cite>New York Times</cite></a> feature David Byrne's DVD/book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/3882439076/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/"><cite>Envisioning Emotional Epistemological Information</cite></a>, which contains art he created with PowerPoint. The title's a reference to <a href="http://www.edwardtufte.com/">Edward Tufte</a>, who has <a href="http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_pp">his own opinion</a> of PowerPoint (which was <a href="http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/000931">remixed</a> by Aaron Swartz).</a> tag:metafilter.com,2003:site.27759Wed, 20 Aug 2003 09:43:32 -0800kirkarachaThe Ramones and the Talking heads to get rock and roll rocking chairs in Clevelandhttp://www.metafilter.com/15472/The%2DRamones%2Dand%2Dthe%2DTalking%2Dheads%2Dto%2Dget%2Drock%2Dand%2Droll%2Drocking%2Dchairs%2Din%2DCleveland
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0211/werde.php">The Ramones and the Talking heads to get rock and roll rocking chairs in Cleveland</a> <br><br>
The sparring, though, is as much a part of the Ramones' history as their baseball-bat-clutching American eagle logo. "They'd play for 40 minutes," recalls CBGB proprietor Hilly Kristal. "And 20 of them would just be the band yelling at each other." Danny Fields says that early on, they'd also come to blows after their sets. "Johnny would be strangling Dee Dee, and there'd be press or fans waiting to see them," he says. "I'd tell folks they were just toweling off, give them a couple of minutes, and by the time people saw them, they'd be sipping a beer." tag:metafilter.com,2002:site.15472Tue, 12 Mar 2002 18:13:30 -0800AsiaInsider